


Dreams and Destruction

by PyroJellyfish



Series: Future Fish: Cops and Crooks [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future Fish, Australia, Gen, Major Character Injury, Ocean, Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:01:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6407947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyroJellyfish/pseuds/PyroJellyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin Matsuoka is 20.  He's smart, handsome, and has just placed bronze in his second world-class swimming competition ever.  Everything seems to be on track for him to start a winning streak that will break records and awe the masses.  Until the unthinkable happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreams and Destruction

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel for an upcoming fic I'm planning to write in April. Hope you enjoy it, and feedback is much appreciated!

_They say to lead a fulfilling life you should never give up until you reach your dreams. They don’t tell you what to do when your dreams become unreachable._

Rin Matsuoka was 20. He was handsome, smart, athletic, driven. Everything in his life was going exactly as planned. 

Right now, the plan was to read his mail and cook dinner, then an early bedtime. Training tomorrow was supposed to start at 4 am. The redhead idly toweled the water droplets out of his hair as he picked up his mail from where he had discarded it on the small table next to the front door. Thumbing through the envelopes, he sat down on his lone sofa with a sigh, and let the towel drape around his shoulders. Finally he found the letter he’d been looking for—a slim cream-colored envelope with his best friend’s handwriting gracing the front of it. Grinning, he tore open the paper. 

_Dear Rin_ , he read,

 _Knowing you, you’re upset about the race._ His grin faded. Of course he wasn’t. Everything in his life was going exactly as planned, after all.

 _But you really shouldn’t be. I know you want to reach the top of the global stage as fast as you can, but really, you’re doing great. You’re not on a deadline, and winning bronze at your second global competition is already impressive! I know for you that isn’t enough, though, so why don’t you consider that last race your race for me. The next races will be yours, and this year will be the start of your record-breaking gold medal streak! Don’t argue with me—I can feel it, so I know it will happen. So on that note, thank you for winning a global bronze medal for me! Now focus on yourself, and go for gold._ Rin snorted. Sousuke only seemed to get more ridiculous as he got older. Besides, if Rin was going to medal in a race for his best friend, who had given up swimming after high school due to a shoulder injury, he would damn well make it first place. 

_Enough deep talk. Gou writes me regularly, and she said something in her last letter about a boyfriend. Do you know about this? If so, spill._

_I’ve been accepted to the local Law Enforcement Academy, which I told you I was applying to in my last letter. I start training in a month. Five months after that I’ll graduate, then go through 2 months of field training. After that, you’ll have to call me Officer Yamazaki. ;)_ Really, Rin thought, a winky face emoji? But he reminded himself to send Sousuke a congratulatory letter on his acceptance into the Academy. 

_Not much new here other than that. I see Makoto occasionally, but the others have been too busy to keep in touch. You know he’s going to school for a certification in fire science, with the end goal of becoming a fire and rescue responder? Guess coaching little kids’ swim classes didn’t work out, but I don’t know the details. Sounds like Haru misses you too, from what I hear. You’d better get your ass back to Japan for a visit fairly soon or a lot of people are going to be cross with you._

_Stay in touch,  
Sousuke_

Rin sat back as he finished his best friend’s letter. Trust Sousuke to see right to the heart of things, even if he was in a different country. So maybe things weren’t going quite as planned in his life, but Sousuke didn’t have to make such a big deal about Rin’s bronze medal. Even if it wasn’t gold, he was happy with it. After all, winning bronze in only your second global swim meet is fine. Really. 

The news about Gou didn’t surprise him. She had once asked him if he had considered dating anyone in Australia, and if he would tell her immediately if he started seeing someone. He had replied that he didn’t think it was a big enough deal to pester his little sister with, and suspected she had taken that as permission to not tell him when she started dating. He’d have to ask Sousuke to do some snooping though. Just because he didn’t want to pry into Gou’s love life didn’t mean she could just date someone out of the blue without her brother checking up on her—and her new boyfriend. Plus, Sousuke was going to be a police officer. Checking up on people was going to be his life’s work. Rin chuckled softly at the thought of what his best friend would say to _that_. 

The last paragraph hadn’t come as a surprise—either Makoto’s new career goal or the fact that the rest of the high school gang didn’t contact Sousuke regularly. Rin kept in touch with all of his high school friends, including the Iwatobi Swim Team. He knew they were somewhat intimidated by Sousuke, who had only started to be friendly with them at the tail end of their high school days. Rin privately suspected that Makoto was the one whom Sousuke was most interested in, anyway. The brunet was kind, soft-spoken, but possessed a fierceness in the water that the redhead thought might be sexy to his brooding best friend. 

Rin re-read the last paragraph of the letter with a smile, looking for any hints as to Sousuke’s opinion of Makoto, or whether “seeing Makoto occasionally” was perhaps intentional. He reached the last few lines and the smile slid off his face. Why Sousuke thought it was necessary to bring up Haru…damn busybody, always meddling in other people’s business. So he hadn’t spoken to Haru since that ill-fated letter after his last visit to Japan. Rin’s ears burned as he tossed the letter into the rubbish bin and began his preparations to make dinner. 

***

A few days later, Rin and some of his swim mates were relaxing at the beach. Since his final years of high school back in Iwatobi, Rin had realized that while he swam for himself, it was the people he swam with who really made the difference. What good was setting records if he couldn’t share in the glory? So when he’d moved back to Australia, he’d made a priority of cultivating a friend base among the swim team. His new friends had taught him some of the joys of Australian life, and first among them was surfing. 

This hot Saturday four of them, including Rin, were preparing for some big waves as a break from their usual still-water swimming routine. Surfing used muscles rarely required in swimming, and if they got bored they could always use the alternate workout of swimming in the wave-ridden water. 

Oliver and Liam were Aussies born and bred, both with dark hair and tanned skin. Oliver was tall and lanky, with hair almost the color of Sousuke’s, where Liam was stocky and the shortest of the four boys. His hair was lighter, and would only get lighter as the summer progressed. Conor was of Irish descent, and his light, freckled skin matched the stereotype, though Rin knew from experience that he would still tan to a dark shade. His hair was darker even than Oliver’s, and he matched Rin for height but was packed with dense muscle, making him look sturdier than the redhead.

After a few hours of fun the clear late morning had become a muggy afternoon, with inky clouds piling up toward the horizon. A storm was coming, but the boys didn’t mind—it only meant the waves were getting bigger, better. They were strong swimmers, and they knew there was still time before the worst of it hit. 

The four of them ventured out into the larger waves, farther and farther away from shore but still taking their bearings on it after each run. Even the strongest swimmers could run into problems if caught in a rip current, and Rin was well aware that they were a serious threat, particularly in unpredictable conditions like these. The lifeguard posted on shore watched them but recognized their experience, and had yet to whistle them in to shore. 

The waves built, and the four boys cheered one another one as they did, reveling in the adrenaline and feel of the water. Rin noticed absently that the waves were now high enough that he couldn’t see the shore at all, but he was having too much fun—what was a little storm, anyway?

“Guys, I’m going for this one!” He shouted over the waves and the wind, though he knew they probably couldn’t hear him anyway. A couple excited whoops followed him as he paddled his board further across the depths, toward a large swell that spoke of the enormous wave to follow. 

The wave shifted to a sharp peak, and he lay low across the board, arms surging through the water to either side of it, propelling him forward. He was preparing to stand upright as the wave surged higher, one leg bent to support his weight, when it happened. 

Something very solid hit his board, propelling him out of the water and latching onto his still extended leg, board and flesh squeezing together. The breath was knocked out of him and his chin hit the board as it shot out of the water, and he tasted blood as he bit his tongue. There was barely time to register what had happened and open his mouth to scream out his pain when he hit the water again. 

Down he plunged, disoriented, head throbbing, leg still caught in a vice. As he struggled to find which way was up, the vice tightened, and razors cut into his skin, through muscle. His head broke the surface, and he tried to yell and gasp for air simultaneously, choking instead. The grip on his leg released, and he yanked free, only to be caught in a stronger grip. This time the pain registered both in his thigh and calf, and he was pulled under the surface. He kicked with his free leg, connecting with something that felt strangely fleshy, and suddenly felt air against his face once more. The wind shrieked around him and there was water in his eyes, obscuring his vision.

As the wave crashed over he was tossed with it, submerging again in a confused swirl of turbulent water, his body tossed helplessly through the darkness. Dimly he realized his leg was free again. His mind groggily tried to make sense of what had happened, but one thought kept driving through his stunned brain: get to the surface. Breathe. Live. So he forced his arms to work, settling into the familiar motion of pulling, pushing, propelling forward. He kicked, his right leg feeling slow and cold. He still had no idea what direction he was facing, but he had to keep moving, had to try to be in control of himself and not at the mercy of the water. 

The irony of his situation pierced the veil of confusion surrounding him. He, a world-class swimmer, who spent every day of his life in the water, could die here, alone, helpless, afraid. 

Just like his father.

A cold dread settled into Rin’s heart, and panicked tears pricked the back of his eyes. He thrashed, and his arm brushed something smooth, something swimming next to him—something alive. His throat constricted with fear and he lashed his limbs more desperately. 

After what seemed an eternity, he breached the surface, and realized with a shock he was near the shore. Coughing, he cried out weakly for help. His lungs felt shredded and torn, his head and jaw throbbed, and his leg—he couldn’t really describe it. It was almost numb, but he felt a prickling sensation, and a dull ache belied the numbness of it. It wouldn’t respond to his attempts at swimming. 

Hearing yells, he turned, still sluggishly trying to get to shore. Oliver, Conor, and Liam were all swimming toward him, frantically, faces white, eyes darting nervously through the water around them. He slowed, trying to make his voice work, to tell them he was okay. From the corner of his eye he saw motion, and shied away before he realized it was the lifeguard, splashing through the surf towards the group. 

“I’m okay,” he finally managed to gasp as Oliver, the strongest swimmer next to him, reached his side. “Don’t know what happened, just knocked the wind out of me.”

“You don’t know what happened?” Oliver’s voice was strangled, his lips strangely blue in his pale face as he grabbed Rin’s arm. Rin stared at them, transfixed, wondering what had caused his friend to turn such a sickly color. 

The other team-mates had reached them by this point, and Conor moved to support Rin while Liam splashed off toward the lifeguard, yelling about hospitals and emergencies. 

“I don’t need a hospital,” Rin said, coughing again. His lungs ached and he could tell he was bruised all over. Ignoring the twinge in his leg, he said, “I’m fine, really.”

“Rin, you’re not fine,” said Conor, slinging the redhead’s arm around his shoulder. “You were attacked by a shark.”

As if to illustrate the point, a large fin breached the water’s surface a few meters away, quickly disappearing into the crashing waves. Rin stared at the place where it had vanished, and a sudden surge of pain in his leg as they lifted him out of the water made him gasp. 

Without consciously thinking about it, he turned his head to survey the damage. Torn skin, bits of fiberglass and polyurethane embedded in the flesh, something that looked hard and white—was that bone? _His_ bone?—and blood: red blood, streaming through the water behind him, billowing out in plumes and swirls, streaking down his leg stickily. The cloud of red spun lazily back toward where the fin had been, and Rin fancied he saw a dark shape darting toward him in the water. His head spun, and the world closed in around him. Pain erupted then, burning its way through the shock he had been in until now, and suddenly he was experiencing sensory overload.

Pain, blood, fear, drowning, swirling in the water, unseen things around him, toothed monsters searching, seeking, drawn to his blood, slicing him with razor sharp fangs, pulling him to the darkness, choking on blood. As he sagged into unconsciousness, fear and pain dragging him down, one clear thought permeated the chaos in his mind: nothing in his life was going as planned.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: Part 2 begins [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6451996/chapters/14766160). Thanks for reading!


End file.
